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DOCTOR RABBIT 
AND TOM WILDCAT 





THE GREENWOODS SERIES 


DOCTOR RABBIT 

AND 

TOM WILDCAT 



RAND McNALLY & COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


Copyright, iqiS 

By Rand McNally & Company 





AUG e' I lain 


©CI.A5031J)0 


N 


To all children 

who love 

the Big Green Woods 
and the little creatures 
who make their homes there 


» 



f 



THE CONTENTS 

PAGE 

An Unwelcome Caller 1 

Doctor Rabbit Discovers a Secret .... 7 

Doctor Rabbit Keeps Still and Listens. . . 10 

Doctor Rabbit Speaks to Jack Rabbit ... 14 

Fooling Tom Wildcat 19 

Tom Wildcat Has an Accident 24 

A Big Surprise 30 

Tom Wildcat Invites Doctor Rabbit to Dinner 34 

O. Possum Gets Sick 38 

Doctoring O. Possum and Stubby Woodchuck . 43 

Stubby Woodchuck’s Exciting Adventure . . 49 

Tom Wildcat Gets Frightened 54 

Tom Wildcat Makes a Discovery 59 


Doctor Rabbit Thinks of a New Scheme . . 64 

Chatty Red Squirrel Has an Adventure . 69 

vii 


viii THE CONTENTS 

PAGE 

O. Possum’s Funny Mistake 75 

Tom Wildcat Decides to Make a Visit ... 80 
Tom Wildcat is Greatly Surprised .... 83 

Tom Wildcat Becomes Frightened 88 

Tom Wildcat Moves Hastily 92 



THE ILLUSTRATIONS 


“What do you want at my house this 


time o’ night?” . 1 

Mr. Jack Rabbit . . •. came very near 

being caught . 12 ^ 

Crash! he went right through . . into 

that deep hole! 24^ 

“Mr. Possum, what have you eaten 

lately?” 44 

“I have a plan, Mrs. Woodchuck” . 64 ^ 

All the little creatures hurried out to 
watch him 944^ 


IX 





r' • 




'What dojyou want at my house 
this time o’ night?” 


DOCTOR RABBIT 

AND 

TOM WILDCAT 

AN UNWELCOME CALLER 

Rap! rap! rap! It was past midnight 
and some one was knocking on Doctor 
Rabbit’s door. Doctor Rabbit growled a 
little, for he did not like to be wakened 
that time of night even if he was a doctor. 
But he got up anyway and opened the 
upstairs window in his big tree. 

The big round moon was shining very 
bright. It shone quite clear on the one 
who was knocking at the door. Now, 
who do you suppose it wa$^ Well, it 
was some one Doctor Rabbit did n’t want 


1 


2 DOCTOR RABBIT 

to see. I should say he did n’t! For it 
was Tom Wildcat knocking! And he 
was about the worst enemy Doctor 
Rabbit had in the Big Green Woods. So 
it was a mighty good thing he didn’t 
go down and open his front door. 

'‘What do you want at my house this 
time o’ night?” Doctor Rabbit called 
down sharply. 

Tom Wildcat jumped back a little, he 
was so surprised to hear some one talking 
above him. " Oh ! ” he exclaimed, looking 
up. "How do you do. Doctor Rabbit? 
I just came over to have you put some 
salve on my hind foot. I hurt it pretty 
bad a while ago.” 

Now Doctor Rabbit did n’t believe old 
Tom. So he said, "Well, that doesn’t 
interest me, but how did you hurt it?” 

"Well,” said Tom Wildcat, "I stepped 
on something in the dark — a sticker or 


AND TOM WILDCAT 3 

something. Then all of a sudden I 
found my foot bleeding and mighty sore.” 

Doctor Rabbit knew very well how 
very cunning Tom was, so he spoke right 
up and said, “If you don’t tell me the 
real truth I won’t look at your foot 
at all.” 

That was pretty plain and Tom Wild- 
cat saw there was no other way but to tell 
the truth. “Well,” he said, “the fact is 
I was borrowing a hen from Farmer Roe’s 
chicken house, and his big dog and I had 
a little trouble before I could get away.” 

“Aha, I see,” said Doctor Rabbit, 
peering slyly down at Tom and looking 
very wise. “ Well, I ’ll just shut my win- 
dow and you can come up. You’ll find 
a small hole under the window. Put 
your foot through it and I’ll look at it.” 
Then Doctor Rabbit shut the window, 
locked it, and sat down to wait. 


4 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


Tom grumbled more than a little about 
having to climb the tree with his sore 
foot, but as there was no other way he 
began pulling and clawing into the bark, 
and up he went. Every now and then 
he hurt his foot against the tree and 
would have to stop. This made him 
pretty mad. But by and by he got up 
to the window and there he stopped to 
rest a bit and get his breath. 

Then he looked at the hole under the 
window and called out, ‘'What are you 
going to do with my foot?'' 

“Why, how can I tell till I see it?" 
Doctor Rabbit called back. And all the 
while he was chuckling so much he was 
afraid Tom might hear. 

After thinking it over Tom had decided 
that perhaps he could put his foot 
through the hole and at the same time 
look through the window and see what 


AND TOM WILDCAT 5 

Doctor Rabbit was doing. But there 
was no way he could do this. So he 
turned round with his head down and 
held on to the bark of the tree while he 
put his foot through the hole under the 
window. 

Doctor Rabbit saw right away that 
Tom Wildcat's foot really was sore, but 
it was n't very bad. So chuckling more 
than ever, he went to his medicine closet 
and got out a box of salve. It was what 
Doctor Rabbit called his hot medicine, 
and it certainly was hot. It would cure 
a sore foot all right, but Doctor Rabbit 
did n't use it very often. He kept it only 
- for some one like his present patient. 

'‘Hurry up!" Tom called out most 
impatiently. 

Doctor Rabbit was all ready, so he 
called back, "All right there, Tom; hold 
right still!" and slapped a lot of that 


6 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


hot salve right on the sore foot, just 
where it hurt the most. 

Old Tom gave a yell loud enough to 
be heard all over the Big Green Woods, 
and down the tree he went. 


DOCTOR RABBIT DISCOVERS A 
SECRET 

When Tom Wildcat reached the ground 
he was pretty mad. Doctor Rabbit 
opened his window again and called down 
to him. “That salve is pretty hot, I’m 
afraid, but I’m quite sure it’ll cure your 
foot. Yes, sir, it’s pretty hot, but it’s 
just the right kind of salve for a wildcat ! ’’ 

“Well, maybe it is,” growled Tom 
Wildcat between his teeth. Then, think- 
ing perhaps the salve would cure his foot 
and that by and by he might deceive 
Doctor Rabbit, he added, in a very 
pleasant tone, “I’m very much obliged 
to you. Doctor Rabbit. Good night!” 

“Good night to you, Tom,” Doctor 
Rabbit said, still chuckling to himself 
as he closed his window and locked it. 


7 


8 DOCTOR RABBIT 

Doctor Rabbit was wide awake now 
and did not care to go back to bed. So 
he put on his light coat and soft slippers 
and sat down in his big rocking chair. 
Then he had a good laugh when he 
thought of the way Tom Wildcat yelped 
as he went down the tree. 

But pretty soon Doctor Rabbit stopped 
rocking and sat up very straight and 
listened. Yes, sir! There was some one 
mumbling in the little thicket near his 
back door. Doctor Rabbit got up and 
quietly slipped down his stairway. He 
crept close to his kitchen door and lis- 
tened. It was just as he thought. Tom 
Wildcat was out there, talking and laugh- 
ing to himself. 

He was saying, “My foot surely does 
bum but I know it’s going to be better.” 
After a minute he went on, “I believe 
I’ll rest here a little. I might just as 


AND TOM WILDCAT 9 

well. Ha, ha, ha! That fat old Doctor 
Rabbit is in bed sleeping his head off. 
He thinks he's pretty cunning, but he’s 
not half as cunning as I am. Ha! ha! 
ha! I should say not. Yes, I’ll just 
rest here for a bit and think about the 
really, truly dinner I’m going to have. 
Jack Rabbit surely will make a fine one. 
Indeed he will!” 


DOCTOR RABBIT KEEPS STILL 
AND LISTENS 

When Doctor Rabbit heard Tom Wild- 
cat say he was going to have his friend 
Jack Rabbit for dinner, he listened with 
all his ears to hear, if possible, how Tom 
expected to catch poor innocent Jack 
Rabbit. The wily Tom, thinking Doctor 
Rabbit was asleep, kept right on talking. 

''It's mighty lucky," he said, "that 
I found where Jack Rabbit takes his nap. 
Ha! ha! ha! Right under the big syca- 
more tree. It will be as easy as anything 
to catch him. Along about noon he'll 
be asleep there, and I'll just creep up 
behind that big tree. Then I'll slip 
up into the tree and walk out on that 
long limb, right over him; and then, 
kerplunk! I'll pounce down on him. 


10 


TOM WILDCAT 


11 


Yum! yum! yum! I can almost taste 
him now! Til hurry home this minute 
and see that Kit Wildcat has the water 
boiling and everything ready. By din- 
ner time ril be as hungry as a bear!’' 

'‘Ouch!” Tom Wildcat suddenly cried 
out, and then he said, "Whew!” softly. 
You see, he had licked his sore foot 'and 
the salve burned his tongue. "That 
salve is certainly hot,” he said; but as 
he was thinking about fat Jack Rabbit 
he did n’t even complain. He was feel- 
ing pretty good again, and he went 
slipping along through the moonlit woods 
toward hiS' home. Every now and then 
a twig or a vine brushed against his long 
whiskers and he turned aside quickly. 
Tom Wildcat’s whiskers help him a great 
deal after dark. They often protect his 
eyes from sticks and briars and tell him 
when a hole is big enough to go through. 


12 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


When slinky Tom had got a little dis- 
tance away, Doctor Rabbit opened the 
door just enough so that he could peek 
out. Tom Wildcat would creep along a 
little distance, then stop and listen and 
look all around. Once he crawled close 
to the ground and made a sudden spring. 
Jack Rabbit gave a great jump and came 
very near being caught, but he darted 
away just in the nick of time. Tom stood 
for a moment jerking his tail from side to 
side and muttering his disappointment; 
then trotted out of sight among the 
shadows. 

Doctor Rabbit closed the door and 
went back to his big rocking chair. He 
could scarcely wait until daylight to run 
over and warn his friend Jack Rabbit. 
Doctor Rabbit knew well enough that 
there was a nice sunny spot under the 
big sycamore tree at the edge of the Big 







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AND TOM WILDCAT 13 

Green Woods, and he knew Jack Rabbit 
often stretched out to sun himself there 
after he had eaten some of the tender 
blue grass. The fact was, Doctor Rabbit 
himself had stretched out there a number 
of times. 

Doctor Rabbit did n't even wait to get 
breakfast. Just as soon as it began to 
be daylight he started through the woods 
to see Jack Rabbit, out on the Wide 
Prairie. ‘‘I certainly hope I shall find 
Friend Jack at home," Doctor Rabbit 
said as he hurried along. 


DOCTOR RABBIT SPEAKS TO 
JACK RABBIT 

It was a pretty long distance from 
Doctor Rabbit’s home in the big tree to 
Jack Rabbit’s home out in the Wide 
Prairie. As Doctor Rabbit went along 
through the Big Green Woods, he moved 
watchful-like, because he thought Tom 
Wildcat might be prowling around almost 
anywhere. When there was a nice open 
glade in the woods. Doctor Rabbit went 
hoppity, hoppity, hoppity, as fast as his 
legs would carry him, and he held his 
ears flat to his head, too, for that’s the 
way Doctor Rabbit and all other rabbits 
hold their ears when they run very fast. 
Then he would stop and prick up his 
ears and listen for the least sound. 

Presently he met Blue Jay. 


14 


TOM WILDCAT 


15 


‘‘Good morning, Doctor Rabbit!'' Blue 
Jay cried out, a great deal louder than 
Doctor Rabbit wished him to. 

Doctor Rabbit said softly, “ Sh ! Good 
morning. Blue Jay. But not so loud! 
Tom Wildcat might — " 

“Where is he?" Blue Jay asked, and 
his voice trembled with fear and anger. 

“Sh!" Doctor Rabbit warned again. 
“I don't know just exactly where he is 
now but he was prowling around my 
house last night, and—" 

“And yesterday," poor Blue Jay inter- 
rupted, “he was prowling around my 
house. I came home just in time to hear 
Jenny Jay screaming her loudest because 
he had nearly caught her. And then 
what do you suppose he did? He ate 
every egg we had in our nest! We 
wanted to peck his eyes out, but we 
did n't dare to get close enough. We're 


16 DOCTOR RABBIT 

building a new nest in another tree now, 
and I 'm watching for Tom Wildcat every 
minute. I just want to tell him what I 
think of him!'' 

‘'Don't talk so loud, please. Blue Jay," 
Doctor Rabbit said again, in a low voice. 
“He might be around close, and I don't 
want him to see me, especially just at 
this time. I 'm on my way to see Jack 
Rabbit on very important business. 
Now, Blue Jay, slip around as quick as 
you can and tell Stubby Woodchuck and 
Cheepy Chipmunk, and our other friends, 
that Tom Wildcat is in the Big Green 
Woods again, and very hungry, too. I 
have thought of a way to get rid of him, 
perhaps; but first I shall have to see 
whether my plan works out." And 
without taking time to say another word. 
Doctor Rabbit hurried away through the 
woods toward Jack Rabbit's home. 


AND TOM WILDCAT 17 

Blue Jay flew straight to the stump 
where Stubby Woodchuck lived and told 
him to look out for Tom Wildcat; then 
he went around and told Cheepy Chip- 
munk, and Robin-the-Red, and Chatty 
Red Squirrel. They told their neighbors, 
so that in a little time they all were talk- 
ing and thinking about Tom Wildcat. 
You see, all the little creatures of the 
Big Green Woods are dreadfully afraid of 
old Tom Wildcat, because not only can 
he spring quickly on the ground, but he 
can climb trees very swiftly. 

Tom Wildcat lived in a very large 
cottonwood tree over by the Deep River. 
He prowled around over there, eating 
whatever he could find. Sometimes he 
caught a fish at the edge of Deep River, 
and now and then he caught a hen that 
wandered down along the bank. He was 
satisfied with such things for a time. 


18 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


but every now and then he slipped into 
the Big Green Woods. All the little 
woods creatures said they surely hoped 
that plan of Doctor Rabbit's, whatever 
it was, would get rid of Tom Wildcat, 
for they both feared and hated him. 


FOOLING TOM WILDCAT 

Now it so happened that Jack Rabbit 
came over for an early breakfast of tender 
blue grass, and he met Doctor Rabbit 
just at the edge of the woods. Doctor 
Rabbit was certainly glad of this, be- 
cause it was pretty dangerous for him 
to go far out on the Wide Prairie. 

Of course Jack Rabbit was very much 
alarmed when Doctor Rabbit told him 
Tom Wildcat had planned to eat him. 

''My goodness!'' was all poor Jack 
Rabbit could say. 

"Now listen!" Doctor Rabbit said. 
"I've a little scheme." And then to 
make very sure that no one else heard, 
he went up close to Jack Rabbit and 
whispered in his ear for a time. Then 
they both laughed and danced a jig. 

19 


20 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


“Doctor Rabbit, you’re surely the 
smartest rabbit that ever was!” Jack 
Rabbit complimented his good friend. 

Doctor Rabbit said they would have 
to hurry now, and they went straight to 
the big sycamore tree where Jack Rabbit 
generally lay down to sun himself. 

There was a deep, wide hole under this 
tree, that Farmer Roe’s boy had dug for 
a playhouse a good -while ago. Doctor 
Rabbit and his friend Jack Rabbit began 
gathering long, slim, dead sticks and 
laying them across this hole. All the 
time they kept laughing to themselves. 
The sticks were pretty rotten, and when 
they had a whole lot of them laid across 
the hole they covered them all over 
with dead leaves and grass. When they 
had finished, it looked as if there never 
had been any hole at all. 

They then went to several rabbit nests 


AND TOM WILDCAT 21 

Jack Rabbit knew about, and got a lot 
of rabbit fur. They took this fur and 
made it into a good-sized, long body. 
This done, they went up near Farmer 
Roe's house and got a pair of jack rabbit's 
ears that the farmer's boy had thrown 
away. They belonged to a rabbit that 
had been unfortunate. They brought 
these ears down to the big tree and fixed 
them on the fur body they had made. 
Then Doctor Rabbit — because he was 
lighter than big Jack Rabbit — walked 
very, very carefully out on the leaves 
and sticks over the hole and laid down 
that make-believe jack rabbit. 

Well, sir, you would have been sur- 
prised to see how much that did look like 
the real Jack Rabbit lying there. Doctor 
Rabbit said he really had to look at Jack 
Rabbit to make sure it was n't he. Then 
they both laughed a great deal, they 


22 DOCTOR RABBIT 

were so glad they had thought of this 
plan. But it was getting close to noon, 
and they hurried away and hid in a briar 
patch, where they could watch. 

Doctor Rabbit and his friend Jack 
did not have to wait long. Suddenly 
Doctor Rabbit poked Jack Rabbit and 
told him to keep very still. They both 
looked. There was Tom Wildcat, creep- 
ing through the woods. He was coming 
very, very cautiously and looking straight 
toward the tree where Jack Rabbit took 
his nap. When he got a little closer he 
crouched down almost flat to the ground. 
He jerked his tail from side to side and 
began creeping up more cautiously than 
ever, because he thought he saw Jack 
Rabbit lying there sound asleep. 

Well, it surely was funny to see how 
badly slinky Tom was being fooled, and 
Doctor Rabbit and cheery Jack Rabbit 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


23 


could scarcely keep from laughing; but 
of course they did n't dare make a sound. 
Tom Wildcat would creep and crawl and 
stop and watch, then creep and crawl 
and stop and watch again, until finally 
he got right behind the tree. Then he 
crawled up the tree ever so carefully, 
from behind. Presently he was up to 
the long limb. Here he stopped and 
looked down and grinned, and looked as 
pleased as could be, and then he went 
crawling out on that limb, slowly and 
cautiously, until he was right over what 
he thought was Jack Rabbit. 


TOM WILDCAT HAS AN 
ACCIDENT 

When Tom Wildcat had crawled out 
on the limb and got to the place from 
which he thought it would be best to 
jump, he stood up and grinned ever so 
broadly at what he considered his good 
fortune. Then down he jumped, and 
crash! he went right through those rotten 
sticks and into that deep hole! 

Then Doctor Rabbit and Jack Rabbit 
ran out of the briar patch, and shouted 
and laughed and laughed. By and by 
Doctor Rabbit crept up to the hole and 
looked down on Tom Wildcat. 

‘‘Why, how do you do. Friend Tom? 
You must be digging a well to-day!” 
Doctor Rabbit said, as if he meant it. 

Then Jack Rabbit came up to the hole 


24 



CrasTi ! Ke went riglit through 
•••into that deep hole! 


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TOM WILDCAT 


25 


and looked down, and said, ‘‘Well, well, 
our friend, Tom Wildcat! This is a 
pleasant day, is nT it, Tom? You seem 
to be making a dinner of rabbit fur; I 
notice you have a good deal down there 1 
Tom ground his sharp teeth in anger 
and glared up at Doctor Rabbit and Jack 
Rabbit. Then suddenly he thought that 
if he acted pleasant, he might deceive 
them, and get out. He smiled up as 
politely as anybody, and said, “Oh, I can 
get out easily, if I want to, but I J1 always 
be the best of friends with you if you 
will just drop down that small log that 
I noticed up there by the tree. The fact 
is, I rather enjoy the joke; but now that 
weVe had a good time, I know you 
won’t mind slipping that log down end 
first. Then we can fix this hole up again, 
and play a good joke on some of our 
other friends.” And Tom Wildcat smiled 


26 DOCTOR RABBIT 

and looked so pleasant that it seemed as 
if he were as kind and good as anybody. 

But Doctor Rabbit and Jack Rabbit 
just chuckled to themselves, and Doctor 
Rabbit said, '‘Oh, we won't trouble our- 
selves with getting you the log, Smarty 
Wildcat. You can get out easily, if you 
want to!" 

Then Doctor Rabbit and jolly Jack 
Rabbit both laughed right out loud, 
and Jack Rabbit said cheerfully, "No, 
Tom, we won't bother about that log, 
because you can get out so easily if you 
want to!" 

"Yes, of course he can!" laughed Doc- 
tor Rabbit. "Well, I hope you enjoy 
your juicy dinner of rabbit fur, Tom. 
You have a lot of it down there. Ha, ha, 
ha! Good day, Thomas!" And away 
went Doctor Rabbit and his friend Jack 
Rabbit to tell all their little woods 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


27 


neighbors about getting Tom Wildcat 
into a deep hole where he could not get 
out. 

In a short time everyone knew what 
had happened, and that afternoon Tom 
Wildcat found out what all the little 
creatures of the Big Green Woods thought 
of him. When Blue Jay and Jenny Jay 
heard of it, they flew straight to the limb 
over Tom's head and scolded him to 
their hearts' content. ‘‘He's a thief and 
a robber. He ate my eggs, and I hate 
him! I 'll peck his eyes out!" Jenny Jay 
shouted. 

“ I hate him, too!" Chatty Red Squirrel 
barked out angrily from a limb overhead. 
“He's as mean as he can be! I hate 
him! I hate him!" 

Cheepy Chipmunk frisked up to the 
hole and away again, because he was 
afraid even to look at Tom Wildcat. 


28 DOCTOR RABBIT 

But all the time he was frisking back and 
forth, saucy Cheepy scolded as hard as 
he could. Stubby Woodchuck sat on a 
near-by stump and poured forth his 
scorn for Tom Wildcat. Jim Crow and 
Robin-the-Red threatened from the tree 
where they were perched, and all after- 
noon the little creatures of the Big Green 
Woods nagged old Tom and told him 
he was the ugliest and meanest person 
that ever lived. 

After a while there were so many little 
creatures around the hole and in the 
tree over it, all scolding at the same time, 
that Tom Wildcat was about deafened 
with the noise. He put his paws over 
his ears and ground his teeth in rage. 
Now and then Stubby Woodchuck slipped 
up to the hole and pushed a clod in on 
Tom’s head, and then everyone shouted 
for joy. But once or twice Tom Wildcat 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


29 


jumped so high he nearly jumped out, 
and that scared everyone dreadfully. 

After he sprang as high as he could 
and found he could not get out, he- sat 
down in that hole and just growled and 
growled. The little creatures thought 
they had better be going then. For, 
even if Tom Wildcat was down in that 
hole, he might get out. And his growls! 
They were terrible; so they all scampered 
away. 


A BIG SURPRISE 

All the little creatures surely were glad 
that Tom Wildcat had fallen down into 
the deep hole. They held a big meeting 
that night in Doctor Rabbit's front 
yard, and talked the matter over. While 
they talked, however. Doctor Rabbit 
sent Jack Rabbit to a place near the hole, 
‘"because," Doctor Rabbit said to his 
friends, “old Thomas is mighty cunning, 
and he might manage somehow to get 
out. And if he should happen to scramble 
out— well, he'd be pretty angry, and 
pretty hungry, too." 

“Indeed he would!" gasped Stubby 
Woodchuck in a frightened whisper. “ I 
believe I'll go home this very minute!" 
And he did, as fast as his short legs would 
carry him. 


30 


TOM WILDCAT 31 

“ I think it's about time I was in bed," 
Cheepy Chipmunk said, and away he 
scampered to his stump. 

That broke up the meeting, and every 
one of them hurried to his home. Pretty 
soon Jack -Rabbit came hopping back to 
report to Doctor Rabbit. '‘He's still 
in the hole," Jack Rabbit said. " I don't 
think he can get out. I have a long way 
to go before I reach home, and I guess 
I'd better be going. I told Mrs. Jack 
Rabbit I would n't be out late. I 'll see 
you in the morning. Doctor." And with 
that Jack Rabbit started off on a run, 
and went like a streak through the woods 
toward the Wide Prairie. 

The next morning, a little after day- 
light, Doctor Rabbit was awakened by 
the loud, harsh cries of Blue Jay, just 
outside the upstairs window. 

Doctor Rabbit hurried out. 


32 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


‘‘He’s out and he’s gone!” Blue Jay 
shouted. “Tom Wildcat is out of that 
hole! I just came from there this 
minute!” 

“He is?” Doctor Rabbit exclaimed 
in a frightened voice. 

“Yes, sir, he is!” Blue Jay replied, 
all in a flutter of excitement. 

Doctor Rabbit scratched his head in 
wonder. “I was just a little afraid of 
that,” he said half to himself, “because 
old Tom is certainly cunning; but I 
wonder how he got out.” 

“Well,” said Blue Jay, “I looked into 
that hole pretty close, and I saw just 
how he managed it. He dug two holes 
in one side, where there were some small 
roots. Then he dug two more holes a 
little higher up. And then he dug two 
more a little higher up, and then he 
crawled up a little and dug two more 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


33 


holes, and so on till he got to the top. 
There was a good deal of loose dirt in 
the hole, and IVe an idea that Tom 
must have fallen back quite a number 
of times before he finally reached the top. 
He must have had a mighty hard time 
of it. As like as not he had to work 
most of the night.'' 


TOM WILDCAT INVITES 
DOCTOR RABBIT TO DINNER 
While Doctor Rabbit and busy Blue 
Jay were talking, Doctor Rabbit said 
suddenly, *‘Sh! keep still; there he is 
now!'’ And sure enough, there was 
Tom Wildcat just a little way off near a 
stump, where he had pounced upon an 
unfortunate mouse that happened to be 
passing that way, and gobbled him up. 

Tom Wildcat did not know there was 
anyone around, so he smacked his lips 
and smiled very broadly. It was only 
a small breakfast — in fact, just about 
enough for dessert for greedy Tom, but 
he never was particular; he would just 
as soon eat his dessert first as not. In- 
deed, I think he'd a little rather. 

And now Tom came slipping along and 

34 


TOM WILDCAT 


35 


looking for some signs of Doctor Rabbit. 
Then he happened to glance up and saw 
Doctor Rabbit looking from the upstairs 
window. 

“ Why, good morning, Doctor Rabbit ! ” 
he said in his most pleasing, company 
voice, just as if nothing had happened. 

“Good morning to you, Tom.” Doc- 
tpr Rabbit said it as pleasantly as if he 
and Tom were the best of friends. 

“It’s a fine morning,” wily Tom said, 
looking up and smiling; but all the while 
he was chuckling inwardly. 

“It’s a beautiful morning, just splen- 
did. And I never saw you looking so 
fine,” Doctor Rabbit said. 

Well, sir, Tom Wildcat was actually 
deceived when Doctor Rabbit told him 
he looked so fine. He is such a vain 
fellow he believes anybody who tells 
him he is good-looking. That’s one 


36 DOCTOR RABBIT 

thing Tom Wildcat will always believe, 
because he wants to believe it. 

But he was not one bit deceived about 
anything else, for he remembered his 
recent experience in the hole. 

Because old Tom is always trying to 
deceive others, naturally he sometimes 
deceives himself. He thought that by 
acting kind and polite to Doctor Rabbit 
he might fool him, and so get him for 
dinner. And it made his mouth water 
to look at Doctor Rabbit and think what 
a fine dinner he would make. 

So he said gaily, ‘‘Well, weVe had 
quite a good deal of fun lately; and ha, 
ha, ha! IVe enjoyed it as much as 
anyone. In fact, I really like jokes, and 
I like you now better than ever. Doctor 
Rabbit. You’re the smartest and most 
sociable person in the woods. Do come 
over to my house and take dinner with 


AND TOM wildcat 37 

me. Fm going to have the loveliest 
green peas, and beans, and lettuce, and 
ever so many more of the sweetest vege- 
tables you ever tasted!'’ 


O. POSSUM GETS SICK 

When Tom Wildcat smiled and spoke 
about having all those nice vegetables 
for dinner, Doctor Rabbit knew well 
enough that he did n’t ever eat any such 
things. No, sir; all Tom Wildcat wanted 
was Doctor Rabbit. But Doctor Rabbit 
was just as cunning as was Tom, so he 
said, “It’s very kind of you to invite 
- me over to dinner. Friend Tom, very 
kind, I am sure; but the fact is, I won’t 
have time. I really am too busy.” 

“A good deal of sickness in the Woods, 
I suppose,” Tom Wildcat said, as pleas- 
antly as could be. 

“Yes, quite a good deal,” said Doctor 
Rabbit; “especially a good many acci- 
dents, lately.” 

Tom Wildcat was so angry for a minute 


38 


TOM WILDCAT 


39 


that he almost forgot to smile. He knew 
what Doctor Rabbit meant by accidents. 
He meant Tom's getting his foot bitten 
by Farmer Roe's big dog, and his falling 
into that hole. But by very hard work, 
crafty Tom did manage to keep on smiling 
as he said, ‘'Well, I shall have to be going 
on, then. Possibly you can come over 
some other time and take dinner with 
me. Good morning. Doctor Rabbit!" 
And Tom Wildcat trotted off. 

When he had disappeared. Doctor 
Rabbit sat down in his big chair and 
laughed and laughed. It would have 
made anybody laugh to see how hard it 
had been for Tom Wildcat to smile when 
Doctor Rabbit spoke about so many 
accidents lately. 

There was a great deal of excitement 
among the little creatures of the Big 
Green Woods now. It was bad enough 


40 DOCTOR RABBIT 

to know that Tom Wildcat had come over 
from his hollow tree near the Deep River, 
but it was worse still to think that he 
had fallen into that hole and climbed 
out again. 

Of course, they all had to go right on 
eating, because nobody can live without 
eating. And there was where the little 
creatures were in great danger. They 
were generally hunting something to eat, 
and there was always someone like Tom 
Wildcat watching for them, ready to 
pounce upon them. 

The next day Doctor Rabbit was called 
to see O. Possum, who was sick. Mandy 
Possum came over in a great hurry and 
said O. Possum was having a severe pain 
in his stomach. Doctor Rabbit got his 
medicine' case and went over to the 
Possums' house with Mandy Possum as 
fast as he could. 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


41 


Mandy said they would go in the 
nearest way, which was through the 
kitchen. She asked Doctor Rabbit to 
excuse her kitchen, as she had not had 
time to clean it up. Then as they went 
through the parlor, she told him to ex- 
cuse that too, as she had n’t had time to 
clean that up. As they passed through 
two other rooms, she said to excuse them; 
she knew they were pretty dirty, but she 
had not had time to clean them up. But 
Doctor Rabbit did n’t say anything, 
because no matter what time of day he 
came to Mandy Possum’s house, she 
always asked him to excuse the dirt, and 
always said she had n’t had time to clean 
it up. Man doctors sometimes find it 
that way, too. 

Well, they finally came to O. Possum, 
who was off in a corner bedroom. He 
lay in bed with some turpentine and a 


42 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


hot stove lid on his stomach. He began 
to groan terribly when Doctor Rabbit 
came in. '‘Oh my, oh my,’' he groaned, 
"I know I’m going to die! Yes, I can 
feel it, and my wife wants me to die; 
she’s got turpentine and a hot stove lid 
on my stomach, and I’m roasting alive. 
Oh dear! Oh dear!” 


DOCTORING O. POSSUM AND 
STUBBY WOODCHUCK 
As soon as he looked at O. Possum 
Doctor Rabbit knew positively that he 
was not seriously sick, for he had seen 
him like that several times before. Doc- 
tor Rabbit said, ''Let me see your 
tongue,'’ and O. Possum grunted and 
put his tongue out. It was badly coated. 
"I see!" said Doctor Rabbit, wisely. 
Then he examined his patient by thump- 
ing his chest and his stomach and his 
back, and finally said, "Friend Possum, 
what have you eaten lately?" 

"Oh, I haven't eaten anything to 
speak of," O. Possum groaned. "Only 
a little piece of chicken." 

"Was that all?" asked Doctor Rabbit. 
"Well, maybe I did eat two little 


43 


44 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


pieces/’ O. Possum groaned again. “ But 
that was all.” 

'‘He ate a little pudding, too, Doctor,” 
ventured Mandy Possum, timidly. 

"How much?” Doctor Rabbit asked. 

"Just the smallest bit,” O. Possum 
began, but Doctor Rabbit interrupted 
him with, "Exactly how much?” 

"Oh, not more than a small bowl full.” 

"I see! I see!” exclaimed Doctor 
Rabbit, smiling, and his bright eyes 
twinkled. " Your bowls all hold a quart. 
Brother Possum. A bowl of pudding, 
two big pieces of chicken, some pie and 
some cake, and a plate of dumplings Mrs. 
Possum had left over from yesterday!” 
And Doctor Rabbit laughed, while 
O. Possum looked very, very much 
surprised, because that was exactly what 
he had eaten, and he wondered how 
Doctor Rabbit could tell. 



Mr Possum,what have j^ou 

eaten lately?” 




AND TOM WILDCAT 45 

‘'The fact is/' Doctor Rabbit said, 
“you have been making a pig of your- 
self, and you have acute indigestion. 
Here, Friend Possum; take this table- 
spoonful of medicine." 

O. Possum swallowed the medicine, 
and then coughed and choked, and said, 
“Whew! that's the nastiest tasting medi- 
cine I ever swallowed. Mandy, my dear. 
I'll have to trouble you for a drink of 
water." After he had taken the water, 
he said he felt a great deal better. 

“ I can feel that medicine taking right 
hold," he said. “Yes, sir, I feel it, 
and I certainly am better." 

Doctor Rabbit looked with a wise 
glance over his glasses at Mandy Possum, 
and said, “Give him a tablespoonful of 
the medicine every hour until he has 
taken five doses; and he must not eat a 
thing for two whole days." 


46 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


‘'Now, that's pretty tough," sighed 
O. Possum. He was already thinking 
about a big fat hen that Mandy Possum 
was going to cook that very day. But 
O. Possum said he realized he would have 
to do what the doctor ordered, and that 
ended it. 

Just then there was a knock at the 
door. Sophy Woodchuck was there to 
say that Doctor Rabbit was wanted at 
her house at once, for Stubby Wood- 
chuck was feeling pretty poorly. 

Well, when Doctor Rabbit got over 
to the Woodchucks' he found poor old 
Stubby in bed, and groaning just about 
the way O. Possum had been doing. 
And presently Doctor Rabbit found out 
Stubby's trouble was about the same as 
O. Possum's. He had gorged himself 
with too many nuts and other things he 
liked, until he had acute indigestion. 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


47 


In fact, Doctor Rabbit had found out 
long before that most of the sickness 
among the little creatures of the Big 
Green Woods was due to the fact that 
they ate too much. 

So Stubby Woodchuck nad to take a 
bottle of terribly bitter medicine, and he 
too had to go two whole days without 
eating a bite. He said he felt better 
after he had taken the first dose of medi- 
cine; and Doctor Rabbit said that he 
would have to' be going. First, however, 
he took three bottles of medicine from 
his case, mixed them all together, and 
put them in one bottle. When it was 
mixed that way the medicine was terribly 
bitter, and Doctor Rabbit chuckled all 
the time. ‘‘ I 'm getting ready to throw 
this medicine right into Tom Wildcat's 
mouth if he gets after me," Doctor Rab- 
bit explained, and then he slipped out of 


48 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


the door and went hoppity, hoppity, hop- 
pity, as fast as he could go, toward home. 

Now and then as he ran. Doctor Rabbit 
would stop and sit up and look and listen. 
He knew that every minute he must be 
v/atching out for Tom Wildcat. 


STUBBY WOODCHUCK^S 
EXCITING ADVENTURE 
In a few days O. Possum and Stubby 
Woodchuck were around again as usual, 
and one fine, bright morning Stubby 
went out for something to eat. Before 
he started, however, he got up on his 
stump and looked in every direction. 
He did not see anyone to be afraid of, 
so he concluded the first thing he would 
do would be to slip down to the Mur- 
muring Brook for a nice fresh drink. 

As he went along he stopped every 
now and then and looked back toward 
his stump, but everything seemed to be 
all right, and he went ahead. Then, 
when he had gone some distance, his 
heart suddenly seemed to come up in 
his mouth, he was so frightened. He 


49 


50 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


was sure he heard a slight noise a little 
way ahead, among some bushes; and 
he was sure he saw a crouching form. 

Well, poor Stubby was in a pretty 
bad fix. He looked back at his stump. 
Then he shivered; his stump was ever 
so far away. He darted a swift glance 
around to see if there was n't some hole 
handy, that he could run into. 

All he could see was a small hole at the 
base of a tree a little way off. Stubby 
did n't know, of course, whether he could 
squeeze into that hole or not, but he 
decided he must run and try anyway. 
Away he started, as fast as his legs would 
go, and then he was frightened, for from 
behind those bushes came Tom Wildcat! 

Stubby Woodchuck managed to reach 
the hole, but he was in a frenzy of fear. 
Try as he would, he couldn't squeeze 
into that small opening. The very next 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


51 


second Tom Wildcat pounced on him. 
Poor Stubby was so scared he could not 
speak. First Tom held him between his 
paws and glared at him. Then he picked 
him up in his mouth and carried him 
out into an open space and set him 
down again. Stubby promptly started 
to run away, but Tom Wildcat just put 
his paw on him and pulled him back. 

Old Tom did this exactly the way a 
cat sometimes plays with a live mouse 
before he gobbles him up. 

“Well, young fellow,'’ Tom Wildcat 
said, with a terrible grin, “ I guess I Ve 
got you at last." 

Stubby Woodchuck lay on his side and 
panted and panted, he was so frightened; 
but he was glad he was still alive, and he 
thought he might still find some way of 
escape. Then all of a sudden he did 
think of something. 


52 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


‘‘Yes/’ he said very weakly, ‘‘youVe 
got me, Tom Wildcat; but I think when 
you know you're going to die a little 
while after eating me, you'll wish you 
hadn't caught me." 

‘‘Ha, ha, ha!" Tom Wildcat laughed. 
“Yes, I suppose I'll die after eating you. 
Ha, ha, ha! Woodchuck is one of my 
favorite dishes. Ha, ha, ha!" 

“Yes," the clever Stubby said again, 
very weakly, “if I were healthy, that 
would be different, but I was poisoned a 
little while ago, and I was just going 
down for one last drink, so I could die in 
comfort!" 

“What's that?" exclaimed Tom 
Wildcat, jumping up with wide eyes 
and walking round and round Stubby 
Woodchuck. “How do you know you 
are poisoned?" he asked sharply. 

“Because," Stubby answered — and it 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


53 


sounded as if he were about gone — ‘‘be- 
cause I was sick and Doctor Rabbit 
gave me the wrong medicine. He feels 
awfully bad about it, and said he could 
not bear to see me die!'’ 


TOM WILDCAT GETS 
FRIGHTENED 

While Tom Wildcat walked round and 
round Stubby Woodchuck, looking at 
him and getting more and more scared 
every minute, Stubby went right on 
talking. '‘Yes,’' he said very weakly, 
"Doctor Rabbit gave me the wrong kind 
of pills. His calomel pills and his strych- 
nine pills all being white, he made a 
mistake, and gave me strychnine; and he 
did not find out until it was too late. 
Oh, dear me! I can’t last long now. 
The poison is paining me terribly. Do 
eat me up quick, I beg of you! Eat me 
up quick! Yes, I can feel the poison 
working out through my skin; it is all 
through me and all over me!” 

Well, sir, old Tom Wildcat had been 


54 


TOM WILDCAT 


55 


surprised many times in his life, but 
this was the biggest surprise he had ever 
bad. And he suddenly remembered he 
had had his mouth on Stubby Wood- 
chuck. All this time Stubby kept one 
eye open just the smallest bit, so that 
he could watch the wily Tom. 

When Stubby Woodchuck spoke about 
feeling the poison coming out on his 
skin, Tom Wildcat’s eyes grew wide with 
fear, and he began to spit and spit, 
because he thought that Stubby was 
poisoned. Tom began to imagine he 
could taste something bitter in his own 
mouth. That ’s what happens sometimes 
when people get to imagining things. 
Tom Wildcat spit ever so many times to 
make sure to get all the poison out of his 
mouth. 

After a while he said pretty low, and 
to himself, although sharp-eared Stubby 


56 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


heard, ‘‘My goodness! I believe I do 
feel a little queer myself! Sakes alive! 
I wonder if I am poisoned! Dear me! 
I wonder what I ought to do if I am! 
Maybe if I run around real fast, and get 
warmed up, that will help me. Any- 
way ril try it.’' 

And away Tom Wildcat ran, round and 
round in a big circle. But he did not go 
far off, so Stubby just had to lie quite 
still. 

At last Tom stopped. “Maybe climb- 
ing a tree would help me,” he said, and 
away he went for a tree, then up into the 
tree; but he was right down again in no 
time, so Stubby Woodchuck could not 
move. Tom Wildcat was panting now, 
ever so hard. He came up and stood 
looking down at Stubby. Presently he 
said, “Well, I believe I’m feeling a little 
better, but I guess I ’ll wait around here 


AND TOM WILDCAT 57 

a while and see if I get to feeling queer 
again.’' 

Tom Wildcat then lay down, with his 
head between his paws, and was quite 
still for a long time. 

After a while he stretched and yawned, 
and said, “Ho, hum,” and rubbed his 
eyes. Now the very minute old Tom 
rubbed his eyes, he didn’t have to 
imagine something hurt him; he knew it 
did — and I’ll tell you what it was. 
You remember that hot salve that Doc- 
tor Rabbit put on the foot the dog had 
bitten? Well, that hot salve keeps its 
strength for days and days, and when 
Tom Wildcat, not thinking, rubbed his 
eyes, he rubbed some of that hot salve 
right into one of them. It was in only 
one eye, but my! how that eye did burn! 
One eye was certainly enough. Tom 
Wildcat let out a yell that could be heard 


58 DOCTOR RABBIT 

all over the Big Green Woods; and then 
before he thought, he rubbed his eye 
again, and of course he rubbed in some 
more hot salve. 

Well, it got to smarting and burning 
so badly that it nearly set Tom Wildcat 
crazy. With both eyes shut, and yowling 
terribly, he began running in every direc- 
tion. The first thing he ran into was a 
brush thicket; then he backed out of that 
and started again, and presently butted 
his head against a tree. 

By this time he had forgotten all about 
Stubby and everything else except that 
smarting and burning in his eye. 


TOM WILDCAT MAKES A 
DISCOVERY 

When Tom Wildcat began running 
around with his smarting eye, Stubby 
looked up mighty quick to see whether 
there was any chance of his running 
away. You see, he had to be very, very 
careful now about trying to get away, 
because he probably would be safe if he 
lay there long enough. 

‘‘And still,'’ Stubby said to himself, 
“Tom Wildcat might fool around and 
watch me, and just keep on watching 
me, to see if I die; and then when he sees 
I don't die, he might grow suspicious. 
And still," he went on thinking, “if I 
should start to run, and old Tom should 
see me, then he would know I'm not 
poisoned, and he'd finish me sure!" 


59 


60 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


So you see it was pretty hard for 
Stubby Woodchuck to decide what to 
do. Of course, if he could have been sure 
he could get back to his home in the 
stump, he would have jumped up and 
gone in no time. However, after he had 
watched the queer actions of Tom Wild- 
cat for a while. Stubby began to be a 
little bolder. He thought Tom Wildcat 
had surely gone crazy this time. Of 
course he knew about the hot salve on 
Tom's sore foot, but he had forgotten all 
about it; and even if he had remembered, 
he probably would not have thought that 
was what made the old villain tear 
around so. 

Stubby Woodchuck was afraid, too, 
that since Tom Wildcat was acting so 
crazy, he might suddenly decide to make 
a meal even on a poisoned woodchuck. 
The more Stubby Woodchuck thought 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


61 


of this, the more frightened he was; and 
the next time Tom ’Wildcat ran into a 
thicket, and squawked, and began hold- 
ing his paws over his eyes. Stubby 
bravely stood up. Then all of a sudden, 
right close by. Doctor Rabbit shouted, 
“ Run, Brother Woodchuck ! Run ! run ! '' 
And away went clumsy Stubby toward 
his stump. He thought he was done 
for once, when Tom Wildcat came in 
that direction; but Tom Wildcat did 
not see Stubby at all, and he got safely 
to his stump. 

He ran in and fell down on the floor, 
panting so he could not speak. Sophy 
Woodchuck hurried around and brought 
out the camphor bottle. After Stubby 
Woodchuck had smelled the camphor a 
little, he was able to sit up in a chair and 
tell his wife what had happened. 

Just as Stubby finished his strange 


62 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


story, Doctor Rabbit burst in, and how 
he did laugh about Tom Wildcat's tearing 
around so! And Doctor Rabbit was so 
glad, too, that his friend Stubby had 
escaped. 

Doctor Rabbit said, I was out in my 
front yard when I heard those terrible 
yowls of Tom Wildcat's, and I hurried 
over to see what the trouble was. When 
I saw old T. Wildcat rubbing his eye with 
his sore foot, I knew right away it was 
that hot salve. And as soon as I saw 
my friend Stubby, I guessed what had 
almost happened to him." 

'‘What became of Tom Wildcat?" 
asked Stubby Woodchuck. 

"Well, sir," Doctor Rabbit said, "he 
finally ran over the bank and fell into the 
Murmuring Brook, head over heels. He 
crawled out as wet as any rat you ever 
saw. But I think the water helped his 


AND TOM WILDCAT 63 

eye, for he didn't rub it any more — 
just looked around as if he felt terribly 
ashamed, and hoped no one saw him. 
And then he slipped over to where you 
had been. Friend Stubby, and you should 
have seen and heard him! ‘Gone!' he 
said. ‘And he's made a fool of me. He 
wasn't poisoned at all! But just wait 
until the next time. Stub Woodchuck! 
And that old fat Doctor Rabbit who 
helped him get away — I'll attend to 
him. Indeed I will.' " 

“Well," added Doctor Rabbit, “I 
knew I could get home as easy as any- 
thing, because I had a good start; so I 
yelled out and said, ‘Ha! ha! ha! Tom 
Wildcat, I guess we can't fool you! 
Ha! ha! ha! Oh, no, not at all! Ha! 
ha! ha! Good day, Mr. T. Wildcat!' 
Then I ran home so fast I know he 
did n't get more, than a glimpse of me." 


DOCTOR RABBIT THINKS OF 
A NEW SCHEME 
Sophy Woodchuck was very, very glad 
that her Stubby had come through his 
terrible adventure safely, but she said 
she would be troubled now as long as 
Tom Wildcat was around. certainly 
do wish we could think of some plan to 
get rid of him,'’ she said, and Doctor 
Rabbit chuckled. 

'H have a plan, Mrs. Woodchuck,” he 
said. '' It came to me only this morning, 
so you must give me a few days to get 
everything ready. And don’t you worry 
any more about Tom Wildcat being 
around. No, sir! Don’t you worry a 
bit! I’ve got an idea, and pretty soon 
old Tom will go tearing out of these 
woods, and he’ll stay out! Indeed he 


64 







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1 


TOM WILDCAT 


65 


will! Ha, ha, ha!’' And Doctor Rabbit 
laughed until his fat sides shook. 

This made the Woodchuck family feel 
pretty fine, and it made them curious, 
too. They knew that Doctor Rabbit was 
very wise in a good many things, and 
especially wise in planning ways to get 
rid of a very bad enemy. They remem- 
bered how he had got rid of troublesome 
Ki-yi Coyote. Of course Doctor Rab- 
bit’s plan of getting rid of Tom Wildcat 
in that hole had failed; but we must 
admit it was a good scheme, anyway. 

Well, of course the Woodchucks wanted 
to know right away what Doctor Rabbit’s 
new scheme was, but he only chuckled, 
and said he would have to be going now 
to get things ready. ‘‘ I ’ll need you and 
all our other friends and neighbors to 
help me,” Doctor Rabbit said. '‘None 
of you will have to do very much, but 


66 DOCTOR RABBIT 

what you do, you must do exactly right. 
Now I am going to slip around among 
our friends and get them to promise to 
be ready at any time, and to do just 
what I tell them.'' 

'‘You certainly can count on us!" 
exclaimed Stubby and Sophy, in the 
same breath. 

"I was sure of that," Doctor Rabbit 
replied, and then bidding them a very 
good morning, he went swiftly away, 
hoppity, hoppity, to tell all the others. 

In a short time all the little creatures 
of the Big Green Woods knew that Doc- 
tor Rabbit was working on a new scheme 
to get rid of Tom Wildcat. For several 
days Doctor Rabbit was mysteriously 
engaged in some kind of work at his 
house. He did not go out at all, except 
to Farmer Roe's garden once or twice a 
day, to get some green peas to eat. And 


AND TOM WILDCAT 67 

Doctor Rabbit would not say a word to 
anyone. He was surely busy. 

Blue Jay and Jim Crow, and several 
others, came to Doctor Rabbit when he 
was in the pea patch one morning and 
wanted him to tell them what the scheme 
was; but he only laughed, and said he 
would have to be going right home, 
because he was so busy. 

‘‘Pretty soon Til be ready, and then 
ril tell you about it,'' Doctor Rabbit 
said as he hurried away. 

Finally, after a day or two. Blue Jay 
became so curious he could not wait any 
longer. So he hid in a tree near Doctor 
Rabbit's house and watched. Perhaps 
Blue Jay ought not to have done this, 
but it seemed as if he just could ril wait. 
He hid in the tree and watched all day, 
but he did not see anything until along 
toward evening. Then he saw Doctor 


68 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


Rabbit open his kitchen door. He had 
in his hand a bucket of paint and a paint 
brush. But that was all that Blue Jay 
saw, for Doctor Rabbit wiped the sweat 
off his face and went back into the 
house, shutting the door behind him. 

Well, that was a little news anyway, 
and busy Blue Jay slipped around and 
told what he had seen. Then all of 
the little creatures were curious. They 
could nT imagine what Doctor Rabbit 
was doing with that paint. Cheepy 
Chipmunk said perhaps Doctor Rabbit 
was going to paint himself all up terribly 
black, and scare Tom Wildcat away. 
But the others said this could not be so, 
because Doctor Rabbit had had plenty 
of time to paint himself, if that was what 
he intended. ‘‘No,'' Blue Jay said, 
scratching his head, “that's not it. I 
can't figure out what he's doing." 


CHATTY RED SQUIRREL HAS 
AN ADVENTURE 
Next day, while all the little creatures 
of the Big Green Woods were wondering 
just what Doctor Rabbit could be doing, 
Chatty Red Squirrel had an exciting 
time. It was a beautiful morning. The 
sun shone bright, and everything in the 
woods smelled so fresh and sweet that it 
was very fine to be out. 

Chatty Red Squirrel was out, jumping 
about on the limbs of his tree and enjoy- 
ing himself generally. He would frisk 
about first on one big limb, then on an- 
other, and every now and then he would 
bark a little. This was his way of 
laughing sometimes when he was as glad 
to be alive as he was this morning. 
Pretty soon Chatty Squirrel scrambled 


70 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


down his tree and went fri^ing around 
on the ground. Sometimes he would 
pick up an old worm-eaten nut and bite 
into it, and laugh, and throw it away. 
Then he would frisk around again, so 
fast that it would almost make anyone 
dizzy to look at him. And as sure 
as an5d;hing, some one was watching 
Chatty Squirrel, and watching him very 
closely, too. Not far away — just be- 
hind the nearest dogwood thicket, in fact 
— Tom Wildcat lay hiding and watching 
every movement that Chatty made. 
Old Tom was very hungry, and he be- 
lieved here was a fine chance for a 
breakfast. 

Now when Tom Wildcat hides in the 
woods, he can lie so still that unless you 
happen to look right at him you would 
never know he was there. And he can 
lie still so long you would think he 


AND TOM WILDCAT 71 

couldn't stand it; but somehow he can, 
for that's his nature. 

Tom Wildcat lay behind that thicket 
and watched for nearly an hour while 
Chatty Squirrel played around and had 
a fine tirne — never thinking, of course, 
that Tom Wildcat was anywhere near. 

Then at last Chatty started straight 
toward the thicket where Tom Wildcat 
lay. Tom crouched down close to the 
ground and got all ready to spring. He 
thought now surely he would get a break- 
fast. But after all he was the one who 
was the most surprised, for a little way 
off he heard some one cry out, “Run for 
your tree. Friend Chatty. Here's Tom 
Wildcat!" 

It was Doctor Rabbit who had shouted. 
He just happened to be passing that 
way to get a drink at the Murmuring 
Brook, and he couldn't bear to see 


72 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


Chatty Red Squirrel get caught, just 
when he was having such a good time. 

My! how frightened little Chatty was, 
and how he did run for his tree! As he 
went up the trunk Tom Wildcat sprang 
after him; but Chatty Red got away, 
and ran into his hole, high up in the 
tree. Tom Wildcat could not squeeze 
in there, he knew, so he did n't try. He 
was terribly angry, and, seeing Doctor 
Rabbit, who had stopped to see if Chatty 
Squirrel had escaped, started for him 
with a wild bound. Well, sir, Tom 
Wildcat ran so fast that before Doctor 
Rabbit could get away he felt a little of 
his tail pulled out. Then for a time 
there was an exciting race. It seemed as 
if Tom Wildcat ran twice as fast as usual, 
and Doctor Rabbit was kept dodging 
so often he couldn’t get a start. But 
presently, when Doctor Rabbit made a 


AND TOM WILDCAT 73 

sudden jump to one side, Tom could n’t 
quite stop in time, and he butted his 
head square against a tree. 

Tom Wildcat yelled and started out 
after Doctor Rabbit harder than ever, 
and Chatty Squirrel, who was watching 
from his hole in the tree, laughed right 
out when he heard that loud yell. 

Doctor Rabbit had a good start now, 
and, reaching his back door, he darted 
in, shut the door, and locked it. '‘My!” 
he exclaimed, when he was safe inside, 
"that certainly was a narrow escape for 
me! But I’m glad I happened along 
that way. If I had n’t. Chatty Squirrel 
would have been caught sure enough. 
I ’ll attend to T. Wildcat!” And Doctor 
Rabbit began laughing to himself again. 
"Yes, sir,” he said, "I certainly will 
attend to him, and that before very 
long, too. Ha ! ha ! ha ! ” Doctor Rabbit 


74 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


laughed and laughed every time he 
thought about the fine new scheme he 
was going to use just as soon as he could 
get ready. Once Doctor Rabbit thought 
he would tell one or two of his friends so 
they could help him with his plan. But 
at last he decided it would be best for 
him to do it all himself. Then it would 
not be possible for Tom Wildcat to find 
out the least thing about Doctor Rabbit's 
secret. 


O. POSSUM^S FUNNY 
MISTAKE 

After Stubby Woodchuck had nearly 
lost his life, and after Chatty Red Squirrel 
had nearly lost his life, all the little 
creatures of the Big Green Woods were 
greatly excited. When things like this 
happen to them, they talk about nothing 
else for a time. 

When they went out of their homes 
every morning for something to eat, they 
were in constant fear of Tom Wildcat. 
One day Cheepy Chipmunk said he was 
not getting more than half enough food, 
because he had to spend most of his 
time watching out. Blue Jay said it was 
the same in his case. He said that 
every time he started to pull a worm 
out of the ground he had to stop several 


75 


76 DOCTOR RABBIT 

times and look around. And sometimes, 
he said, the worm would crawl back into 
the ground before he could get it. 

Once, Blue Jay said, when he was 
pulling a big worm from the ground for 
Jenny Jay, he thought he heard a noise 
behind him, and he stopped and looked 
around. When he turned back again, 
Robin-the-Red had pulled the worm out 
and gone away with it. After gobbling 
the worm, Robin came back and ex- 
plained that he had been having so 
much bad luck in getting worms him- 
self lately that he was about starved. 

Blue Jay had accepted the apology, 
but he did n't feel very good even at that. 
He said, ‘'All right for this time, Mr. 
Robin, but hereafter I'll thank you to 
let my worms alone." I don't think we 
can blame Blue Jay for being a little 
cross with Robin-the-Red; but they both 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


77 


understood, because when Blue Jay got 
a chance, he did the very same thing 
with Robin. 

Then O. Possum had a little trouble, 
too. One morning he came running in at 
the door of his stump and laid something 
down before Mandy Possum. ‘‘Well!’' 
shouted O. Possum, “here’s a nice fat 
chicken for you, Mandy Possum 1 I guess 
we won’t starve if Tom Wildcat is prowl- 
ing around.” 

Mandy Possum went up to the chicken 
and turned it over. Well, sir, it proved 
to be nothing but an old dried-up head 
and a pair of chicken wings that had 
been lying in the farmer’s garden about 
a year. 

“Humph!” exclaimed Mandy Possum, 
in great disgust. “ Humph, you call that 
a big fat hen, do you, Mr. Possum? 
You grabbed it so quick and ran so fast. 


78 


DOCTOR RABBIT 


you thought it was a big fat hen. Ha, ha, 
ha!'' Mandy Possum laughed. ‘‘Tom 
Wildcat has certainly got on your nerves. 
Ha, ha, ha!" 

Then O. Possum looked and saw the 
mistake he had made. “Huh!" was all 
he could say, he was so ashamed. And 
as he slipped out of doors he mumbled 
to himself,. “I'll get a live one." Then, 
after he had sat out in the sun for a little 
while he began laughing all to himself. 
“ That was a pretty good joke on me ! It 
surely was," O. Possum said, and he 
found himself enjoying the joke about as 
much as Mandy Possum had done. 

Well, the next morning Doctor Rabbit 
slipped around pretty early and told his 
friends he was ready with his scheme. 
He carried a big bundle of signs, all 
painted with the finest black letters, and 
he tacked up a sign on the front door of 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


79 


the home of each of his friends and 
neighbors. The little creatures were all 
surprised, and how they did admire 
Doctor Rabbit for his cleverness! They 
said that no one in the world but Doctor 
Rabbit could have thought of such a fine 
scheme, and they were very sure that 
Tom Wildcat would soon receive the 
surprise of his life. 


TOM WILDCAT DECIDES TO 
MAKE A VISIT 

When Doctor Rabbit had all his signs 
tacked up on the front doors, the homes 
of the little creatures of the Big Green 
Woods certainly presented a funny sight. 
That is, it was funny to Doctor Rabbit 
and his friends, but it would not be funny 
to Tom Wildcat when he saw those signs; 
I should say not! And now Doctor 
Rabbit was all ready for Tom Wildcat 
to come over from his home in the hollow 
tree near the Deep River. 

For several mornings old Tom had 
come over to the Big Green Woods pretty 
early; but after he had had such bad luck 
in letting Stubby Woodchuck and Chatty 
Squirrel get away, he decided not to 
come for a time. He thought perhaps 


80 


TOM WILDCAT 


81 


they would forget about him, and then 
he could slip in suddenly and surprise 
them. 

Meanwhile he was fortunate in poun- 
cing upon a foolish young chicken that 
had strayed from the farmer's barnyard 
and gone too near the Deep River. 

The next morning Tom Wildcat was 
fortunate again. A big, fat woodrat, 
that had been over to Farmer Roe's 
feasting on a very young chicken, was 
hurrying back home when he ran too 
close to the tree where Tom Wildcat 
lived. You may be sure Tom gobbled 
up that woodrat in a hurry. 

Afterward he smacked his lips and 
said, ‘'That reminds me that I haven't 
been over to the Big Green Woods for 
several days. Probably by this time 
those people over there have forgotten 
all about me. I 'll just pay them a visit 


82 DOCTOR RABBIT 

this very day. What I really need now 
is rabbit, and blue jay, and woodchuck, 
and things of that sort. One gets rather 
tired of chicken and rat. Yes, I need a 
change in diet, and I 'll just slip over and 
pay my friends a visit. They have not 
invited me, but I'll slip over anyway, 
just to be friendly," and sly old Tom 
smiled until he showed all of his very 
sharp teeth. He was surely pleased at 
the thought of stealing into the Big 
Green Woods again. And his sore foot 
was now entirely well. 


TOM WILDCAT IS GREATLY 
SURPRISED 

After Doctor Rabbit had tacked up the 
signs, of course all the little creatures of 
the Big Green Woods were on the lookout 
for Tom Wildcat. They were sadly dis- 
appointed when he did not come right 
away. Stubby Woodchuck said he was 
afraid Tom Wildcat had seen the signs 
and gone away, and that they had missed 
the fun of seeing him run; but Doctor 
Rabbit said he was sure that Tom 
had not been over since the signs were 
tacked up. He said that Blue Jay and 
Jenny Jay had taken turns and watched 
constantly, and that they had not found 
the least track of him. 

“He'll be over again; don't you ever 
think he will not," Doctor Rabbit told 


83 


84 DOCTOR RABBIT 

his friends, and continued, '‘He's just 
taking his meals somewhere else to fool 
us. Likely enough he's been paying 
some more visits to the farmer's chicken 
roosts; and about the time he thinks we 
have forgotten all about him, he'll be 
over here. You just watch and see!" 

Well, the very day that Tom Wildcat 
said he believed he would go over to the 
Big Green Woods, he did go. Yes, sir, 
he went; and with his mouth just water- 
ing for Stubby Woodchuck and several 
others. It so happened that he did not 
go the way he usually went. He thought 
he would slip in by another way, and 
surprise one or two of the little creatures. 

In fact, he came slipping in the back 
way, and so did not see any of the signs 
on the front doors until he slipped around 
in front of the Woodchucks' house. 

Now as sly as Tom Wildcat had been. 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


85 


fie had not been sly enough for Blue Jay 
and Jenny. They saw him coming; so 
they flew around quickly and told Doctor 
Rabbit and then all the other little 
creatures. 

Tom Wildcat read the sign on Stubby 
Woodchuck's door, and this is what it 
said: 

Cat Cholera Here! 

Come In and Help! 

Well, sir, you should have seen Tom's 
glarey eyes when he read that sign ! They 
almost popped out of his head, he was so 
scared. And then, just a little distance 
away, he read exactly the same thing on 
the Chipmunks' door; and there was 
Cheepy Chipmunk, just outside his door, 
acting mighty queer. You see, Cheepy 
Chipmunk had been watching, and now 
he did exactly what Doctor Rabbit had 
told him to do. Little Cheepy acted 


86 DOCTOR RABBIT 

terribly sick, and leaning up against his 
front door, where the sign was, he said 
loud enough so that Tom Wildcat could 
hear, '‘Oh, dear me; Tm so sick, and it's 
awful to have to die with this, old cat 
cholera! But anyway I hope Tom Wild- 
cat gets it and dies from it. But I sup- 
pose he got it long ago, and is dead by 
this time. Yes, I suppose it was he who 
brought it over and gave it to us. Oh, 
it's terrible!" And then Cheepy sank 
down to the ground and certainly looked 
as if he were breathing his last. Just 
then Mrs. Cheepy did what Doctor 
Rabbit had told her to do. She came 
staggering out of the house and fell down 
right beside Mr. Cheepy on the ground. 

"Oh, this cat cholera is awful, and we 
are all going to die — I know we are!" 
she groaned — and she acted as if she were 
about gone. 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


87 


Well, sir, when old Tom read those 
signs, and when he heard what the 
Cheepy Chipmunks said and saw how 
they acted, he certainly was scared. I 
should say he was scared ! He was more 
scared than he had ever been in his life. 
You see, there is nothing in the whole 
wide world that Tom Wildcat is so much 
afraid of as cat cholera. He knew well 
enough that if he got that disease he 
would n't last long. So it is no wonder 
that he was scared. 


TOM WILDCAT BECOMES 
FRIGHTENED 

When Tom read those signs on Stubby 
Woodchuck’s and Cheepy Chipmunk’s 
doors, and when he saw how very sick 
the Chipmunks acted, he started away 
from there that very minute. His big 
green eyes were very wide, and he kept 
looking back toward Cheepy Chipmunk’s 
house, so that he did not notice where 
he was going, and the first thing he knew 
he bumped right into O. Possum’s house. 
And there on O. Possum’s door was a 
big sign in black letters reading. 

Cat Cholera Here! 

Come In and Help! 

O. Possum’s door was closed, but poor 
scared Tom heard a terrible groan inside. 


TOM WILDCAT 89 

You see, O. Possum had been looking 
out of his window and had seen Tom 
Wildcat coming. It was hard to groan 
when he did so want to laugh. 

Of course Tom jumped away from 
O. Possum's house in a hurry, and with 
eyes wider than ever, started to get out 
of the woods in another direction. He 
kept looking back toward O. Possum's 
house, and pretty soon he ran against 
Chatty Squirrel's house, and there was 
another of those terrible signs: 

Cat Cholera Here! 

Come In and Help! 

Well, Tom Wildcat jumped back about 
scared stiff, and started off in another 
direction. This time he ran. But again 
he kept looking back at the signs and 
forgot to look where he was going. The 
first thing Tom Wildcat knew, he ran 


90 DOCTOR RABBIT 

plump against Doctor Rabbit's house; 
and then he surely was more surprised 
and frightened than ever. Because on 
Doctor Rabbit's front door was one of 
those same terrible signs: 

Cat Cholera Here! 

Come In and Help! 

This was simply awful. '‘And so," 
Tom Wildcat said in a trembling voice, 
"Doctor Rabbit has that dreadful dis- 
ease too, and not even all his medicine 
can keep him from dying!" At the very 
thought, he let out a most terrible yell, 
and away he started out of those woods. 
And this time he did not look back. 
No, sir, he looked straight ahead; and 
how he did run and yell, he was so 
frightened! 

The farther Tom Wildcat ran the more 
frightened he became, and after a while 


AND TOM WILDCAT 


91 


he was going through those woods like 
a streak. Yes, sir, Tom Wildcat was 
terribly frightened; and he had his mind 
made up that he knew mighty well what 
•he was going to do if he ever got out of 
those woods alive! 


TOM WILDCAT MOVES HASTILY 

Kit Wildcat had just swept the upper 
part of her house and was coming down- 
stairs, when she heard Tom Wildcat 
tearing through the brush and yelling 
like a madman. 

Kit Wildcat ran out into the yard 
and shouted, '‘Sakes alive, Tom Wildcat, 
have you gone plumb crazy, or what in 
the world is the matter with you?’' 

But Tom Wildcat did n’t stop; he came 
right on and yelled as loud as he could. 
‘‘Crazy nothing! I’m not crazy, but 
I’d rather be crazy than get cat cholera! 
Come right this minute. Kit Wildcat, 
this very minute! I ’m going clear away 
from this place, and never come within 
ten miles of it again! Hurry, Kit! 
Hurry ! Hurry ! Hurry ! ’ ’ 


92 


TOM WILDCAT 


93 


''Who's got it?" shrieked Kit Wildcat, 
now very badly scared. 

"Everybody!" shouted Tom wildly. 
"Cheepy Chipmunk, and Stubby Wood- 
chuck, and Doctor Rabbit himself has 
it, and is dying with it this very minute!" 
Then Tom Wildcat said, "I had gone 
clear into those woods before I discovered 
the trouble. On every door there's a 
cat cholera sign, asking anyone who 
passes to come in and help; but I can tell 
you. Kit Wildcat, I did n't go in and 
help. Why, I saw Cheepy Chipmunk 
come out and fall down and die, and then 
I saw his wife come out and die; and I 
know everyone in the Big Green Woods 
must be dead by this time, because you 
know what cat cholera is. Come on," 
Tom Wildcat ended suddenly, "I'm 
going!" and away he started, without 
even waiting for Kit Wildcat. 


94 DOCTOR RABBIT 

‘‘Wait until I get my coat!'' Kit 
shouted. 

“I won't wait for anything!" old Tom 
called back, and away he ran. Well, 
Kit Wildcat was so scared she did not 
try to get her coat, but just started off 
right after Tom. 

When Tom Wildcat started out of the 
Big Green Woods yelling so loudly, all 
the little creatures hurried out to watch 
him. After a while they could not see 
old Tom any more, although they could 
hear him and Kit Wildcat yelling and 
running away up the river. But busy 
Blue Jay flew over the trees and watched. 
And after a long time he came back and 
said Tom and Kit Wildcat were still 
running up the river, and that he had 
heard them both say they knew of a 
woods about twenty-five miles away, 
and that they would go there and live. 



All the little creatures 
hurried out to watch him 



AND TOM WILDCAT 95 

When Blue Jay delivered his message, 
all the little creatures were gathered 
together at Doctor Rabbit's house. How 
Doctor Rabbit did laugh! just knew 
I could fool old Tom Wildcat; and if I 
fooled Tom Wildcat, I knew we'd get 
rid of Kit Wildcat, too. Ha! ha! ha!" 
Then Doctor Rabbit said, ‘‘Do come in 
now, my friends. I have a splendid 
meal all ready for you." 

So the little creatures went in and ate 
about all they could hold. It certainly 
was fine to know that they could eat in 
so much comfort, and that Tom Wildcat 
had been driven out of the Big Green 
Woods forever. 


WHAT UNCLE OWL WHISPERED 
Did n't you ever wish and wish and 
wish that you could know what the 
squirrel is chattering about, 
and what the cricket is 
saying when he sings his 
chirpy little song, and what 
the big owl really means 
when he says '*Whoo- 
whoo-oo ' ' ? Lucky Peter 
Patter does know, for all the animals 
tell him funny things; and the best part 
of it is that Peter isn't selfish! He has 
told all his charming little rimes to 
Leroy F. Jackson, who has let Rand 
McNally & Company print them in a 
beautiful big book, with pictures by 
Blanche Fisher Wright. You can find it 
in any bookstore for $1.50. Its name 
is The Peter Patter Book, Don't you 
like Peter's picture? 



IN THE CIRCUS TENT 
“If I was a bear,” boasted Jack, as 
they walked past the animal cages in the 
circus tent, “and strong as strong, I 


wouldn ’t stay in a 



cage and go round 


with a circus. I ’d 
live in the woods.” 


“ If I was a tiger,” echoed Nancy, “and 
could creepy-crawl like a big cat. I’d 
never let ’em put me in a circus.” 

“If you’d like to know why they’re 
all here,” said Mother, with a smile, 
“we’ll stop on the way home and buy 
Elizabeth Gale’s stories about How the 
Animals Came to the Circus. Warner 
Carr drew the pictures and Rand Mc- 
Nally & Company made the book, and 
we can get it at any shop for 50 cents.” 



THE CAT THAT FIDDLED 
You Ve known Tom, the Piper's son, 
for a long, long time, but did you ever 
know that he had a 
pet cat which fid- 
dled so merrily that 
even the King just 
couldn't keep his 
feet still? And did 
you know that Little Miss Muffet had 
a Mother who had an Aunt who could 
be cured of a sick-a-bed illness only by 
eating hot buttered muffins? And did 
you know — O, ever so many more things 
about your Mother Goose friends? If 
you didn't, let Louise A. Garnett and 
James McCracken tell you in The Merry- 
^ makers. Rand McNally & Company 
have made their rimes and pictures into 
a book which you may buy in the shops 
for $1.00. 



OPEN YOUR EYES! 

Perhaps you didn't 
know it, but the Little 
People who are so busy 
making the seed babies 
lie straight in their 
beds and driving off 
Jack Frost when he wants to nip the 
snowball blossoms love to talk to all 
children. But many children — would 
you believe it? — shut their ears and 
eyes and never hear them or even see 
them. Loraine was different, and they 
told her the most delightful things. 
Maybe it will help you to see and hear 
these Little People if you read about 
them in a book called Loraine and the 
Little People of Spring. Elizabeth Gor- 
don and Rand McNally & Company 
made the book, which you may buy in 
any bookstore for 50 cents. 




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